Work essay by john ruskin

John Ruskin (1819 –1900) was an English art critic and social thinker, also remembered as a poet and artist. He wrote a number of essays on art and architecture that became extremely influential in the Victorian era.

From this page, you can download all or part of The Library Edition of the Works of John Ruskin (1903-1912, eds. E.T Cook & A. Wedderburn) in PDF format. To view or download the entire Library Edition or a specific volume, click on it in the list below.

In 1870, through the intervention of friends, Ruskin was elected Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford University. Although pleased with the position, which he felt elevated him from amateur to official status in the art world, Ruskin continued to question the social and moral value of the study of art.

The essay is the socio-economic criticism of European industrialization and outcome of the industrialization. This essay shows Ruskin’s rage against the machine and it dehumanization in an industrial era. When machines were invented and factories and industries were established there was no value for workers working by hand.